The Great Illusion
by Thre3
Summary: Beckett wakes up in a mental hospital after having been in a car accident. No one believes she is who she says she is. She has no memory of the previous night, what happened? Caskett eventually. AU. R&R Thanks
1. Chapter 1

**For Sez&Mel: **Hey SezzaLuvBones & Kick Caskett. I didn't like my other story, so I'm going to write a new one :3 You guys don't have to read it, but if you're reading this dedication then I guess you'd feel kind of obligated to right? Well, whatever, I dedicate this chapter to you guys…because you're_ both_ awesome. (Even if I know only _one_ of you will read this no matter what I say ;] )

A/N**:** **I had a random idea for a story. It has probably been done before but I'm writing a fan fiction about it because, let's face it, we all love Castle, and I would like to turn a random idea into an AU Castle story. I hope you like it. I'm going to try and incorporate some Caskett in it somehow (because isn't that what every Castle fan wants?) and if I do this right, this story shouldn't be too long.** (**The first Chapter will be slightly long, only to establish the beginning of the story. I hope this is okay.) **

**Disclaimer: **Don't Own Castle.

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A sharp jabbing pain caused her to flinch as she tried to straighten her stance. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to the sight of the steering wheel of her car. She lifted her head from the steering wheel, in order to stop the incessant noise the car horn was making. She coughed and realised there was smoke coming from the bonnet of the car. She forced the door open and clambered out of the car as quickly as she could.

Detective Katherine Beckett had been in a car accident.

She moved away from the car quickly at realising it would spontaneously combust any moment now. When she felt that she was far enough she searched for her phone, but she couldn't find it. She began to stress as the jabbing pain in her back began to throb again. She looked down at herself, to see if she was seriously injured in any way, shape or form. The only physical injury she knew of was a scar across the top of her forehead, where her head meets her hairline. She felt a small amount of blood, but a large amount of pain when she touched it.

She needed to find someone, _anyone_. Or at least she needed to find a payphone. Or any way of contacting any form of civilisation. By this point, Beckett had morphed into panic mode. She walked alongside the road away from her now _flaming_ car.

Beckett walked for what seemed like miles, but was merely a kilometre to the nearest shopping outlet. She walked into a small isolated deli and found a payphone. She considered Castle, but it was dark and she didn't know what time it was, so she called the police.

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Beckett opened her eyes only to see the roof of a hospital.

She sat up in her bed. The details of what had happened to her the night before were foggy, almost non-existent in her memory. She needed to talk to someone. She called for the nurse.

"Is there something you were needing?" a male nurse came in to her aid.

"Um," she moistened her lips out of feeling nervous, "I-I was in a car accident last night," her bottom lip quivered. The nurse merely nodded and left the room. She assumed he had gone to go check her details, so she relaxed slightly, and leant back in her bed. She looked around at the rest of her room. There were two other beds occupying the small space in the room. One bed was empty; the other was taken by a sleeping individual. Having not been left alone with her thoughts very long, Kate was brought back to reality by the presence of the male nurse and a doctor.

"Miss Beckett?" the doctor said as he looked up from a folder.

"Detective," she corrected.

"I beg your pardon?" the doctor asked with confusion.

"_Detective _Kate Beckett with the NYPD," she said as a standard greeting. At hearing her say this, the nurse and the doctor shared a look that concerned Beckett. The nurse left as the doctor sat by Beckett's bed.

"Kate, do you remember what happened last night?" he asked her in a clam voice.

"I crashed my car. I think it was about 7pm and…I don't remember much else," she said as she unconsciously brought her hand to the bandaged injury on her forehead.

"Do you really believe that you are a detective with the NYPD?" he asked, still calm.

"Yes! I don't _believe_ it, it's true," she protested, "Call them. Better yet, call Richard Castle; he'll definitely vouch for me. I'm surprised he hasn't come here already. What hospital is this?"

"Miss Beckett, please remain calm. You want use to call Richard Castle?" the doctor gave her a certain look.

"If you're not going to refer to me as my job title, then just call me Kate. None of that _Miss Beckett_ you keep saying," she said with a frown, she was growing more and more impatient, "And yes, call Rick Castle. He's been working with me for some time now. He'll tell you everything,"

Just as she finished talking, the nurse came back in to the room and the doctor met him at the door. They began quietly talking. Although she couldn't hear them, Beckett knew they were talking about her. The nurse nodded and left while the doctor walked back to Beckett.

"Where am I?" she asked with fury lacing her tone.

"Oh I'm sorry. You must not remember, because of your head injury. I am Dr. Harrison and you are at Gracie Square Hospital,"

"Gracie Square?" she asked as she grasped the arm rest of her bed with her hands. _Isn't that a Mental Institution? _She silently asked herself.

"Kate, please do not worry, we only want to help you," the doctor said as a kind of reassurance. It didn't calm her, but she physically calmed herself down and relaxed her hands.

"I need to go for a walk," she said to no one in particular.

"Oh yes of course. Feel free to walk around the grounds," the doctor said as he left the room. Beckett lay back in her bed. She needed to wrap her head around what was going on. No one believed that she was a detective and she was in a loony bin, was it a loony bin or was it a normal hospital? She wanted to talk to Castle, she_ needed_ to see him.

There was obviously some mistake. Right?

She got out of bed and decided to roam _the grounds_. She came across some sort of visitor's room, with a kind visitor's room.

_All hospitals have visitor's rooms_, she reassured herself. From her peripheral vision, she saw a familiar face approaching the doors, accompanied by a nurse.

It was Castle. A smile of relief graced her features. She knew he would come for her, she knew there had been some kind of mistake.

"Castle," she breathed a sigh of relief, "Castle!" she called to him. She walked over to him. She couldn't help herself; she pulled him into a hug. He flinched and pulled away.

"Is this the patient you're here to see?" the nurse asked.

"Um, no. I'm sorry I don't know you," Castle said with caution. He walked past her to someone else. Beckett frowned and began panicking again. She went over every detail in her head.

The car accident, the psychiatric hospital and now Castle doesn't even know her. What was going on?

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A/N: Okay so this was a really long chapter. Thanks for reading it though. Sorry if it was exhausting to read, but I wanted to establish some things at the beginning if people are actually interested in reading further. If you are interested in reading further, please let me know in a review. Thanks Xx


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Okay so I'm continuing this story. I was overwhelmed by how many people put this story on their favourites list, alerts and how many reviews I got. All from the first chapter, so now I feel pressured into making this chapter good. I hope this chapter isn't bad, because I wasn't expecting that many people to actually care about this story. So review and tell me what you think, or else I'll just keep writing bad stories :[

**Disclaimer: **Well, wouldn't it be nice to own Castle, or at least own the characters? Or anything? Well, I don't.

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Kate sat down on a chair and began reading a book she found on a table. She didn't want to make a scene about Castle not recognising her. She figured he was joking and causing a scene will only result in being medicated. She opened the first page of the book, without even glancing at the title or the author. She tried to read the first sentence but couldn't help but look up from her book to where Castle was seated.

If this really was a joke, it wasn't funny. But why would he go through this much trouble only for it to be a prank? Well, this_ was_ Castle. _The_ Richard Castle. Who was he visiting anyway? He was seated next to a young woman, whom Beckett didn't recognise.

Shoving her rambling thoughts aside, Beckett decided to actually _read_ the book she held in her hands. The first few sentences sounded all too familiar.

_It was always the same for her when she arrived to meet the body_.

That was the beginning of Heat Wave. She was reading it in her head and it almost sounded as though it was Castle reading it to her. She blinked at the page in front of her. She read it again.

_Among other public buildings in a certain town…_

This was all in her head again. She was reading an entirely different book. But she could have sworn she heard Castle. Almost like he was reading to her.

"Hi," she heard him again.

"Ugh!" she grunted at the fact that all she could think about was him.

"I'm sorry?" he asked bringing Kate back to reality.

"Castle!" she said sternly with anger but relief at the same time. He looked slightly confused as he pulled up a chair to sit with her. She knew he was only joking when he didn't recognise her earlier. Finally things were making sense.

"Rick Castle," he held his hand out for her to shake.

She stared at him blankly. She looked at him and then his hand, repeatedly. Finally he picked her hand up from the book she was holding and shook it. Why was still going with this whole charade? Unless I wasn't a charade.

"I thought I should come and formally introduce myself. I know you made a mistake earlier when you came and _greeted_ me," he laughed lightly in an effort to make her talk or at least smile.

"I'm sorry," she looked down at her lap in embarrassment.

"I thought I came off as a bit rude. When I apologised,"

"What do you mean?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"When I said _I'm sorry I don't know you_, what I meant was I'm sorry _that_ I don't know you," he explained causing Kate to blush at the compliment.

"Why would you be sorry. Apparently I'm insane. I woke up in a loony bin," she looked past Castle at her surroundings.

"Oh? You woke up here?"

"I was in a car accident last night," she sniffed as she tried to remember what happened.

"Oh I'm sorry," he tried to comfort her by placing his hand on hers, "I think I'd better get going now. Um, you never told me your name," he said as he stood to leave.

"Beckett. Um… Kate Beckett," she said as she watched him prepare to leave.

"Nice to meet you Kate Beckett," he smiled at her and walked away. She looked around the room, still refusing to believe that she was in a psychiatric hospital. She didn't even remember what happened last night. She had crashed her car, but how could that change the person she was entirely.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice, again.

"Here you go," Lanie approached Kate with a small cup with a few assorted pills in it.

"Lanie?" she replied quietly.

"Excuse me?" Lanie held the pills in front of Beckett's face.

"No thank you," Beckett said with a scoff.

"Miss Beckett, we only want to do right by you. If you don't voluntarily take them-"

"I'm not taking them because I'm not insane," she half yelled. She stood up and prepared to walk away but she was forcefully stopped. Without turning around to see who was attempting to hold her down, she swung her arm through the air and punched them. When she saw who it was, she was thankful she wasn't looking at Lanie on the floor. She took a deep breath in and fled before anyone could do anything more. She began to quietly sob to herself.

She needed to find a way out of here, especially when her friends had turned against her or in some cases, just didn't know her.

It still had to have been some mistake, right?

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**A/N:** Okay, this chapter was really slow. I don't like this chapter, but I figure I need to post _something_, so here it is. I promise the next chapter will be better and will actually progress with the whole concept. I thought that she should at least talk to _some _of her friends first. If you don't like this chapter, let me know. Trust me I can take it. Please help me make the next chapter better by telling me how I can improve in a review! Thanks Xx


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I'm back and yes these updates are coming quickly. This is only because at the moment I have no life. I am actually really happy that I have no life right now. The reason being is because my normal life is school and I recently finished my exams, so I am on exam break. Hell yes! Anyway, when school starts in a couple days, updates will be scare to non-existent. So for now, (if you're actually like this story a little bit) enjoy the updates.

**Disclaimer:** Ah. To own Castle would be awesome, but I'm _not that_ awesome so I don't own anything.

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The next morning Kate woke up hoping everything had been a dream. Castle knew her, Lanie knew her. She was a Detective at the NYPD and her life was _her life_. She slowly opened her eyes, with caution, to the familiar roof of the hospital. She sighed; she was never going to give up on her idea that this was not _her reality_.

She lay there for a few minutes. Still going over every small detail of her surroundings and her current situation. She still couldn't remember her accident and what had happened.

Beckett wanted her real life back, if not that then at least her possessions. She figured that if she at least had her phone, she might figure out what the hell was going on.

She sat up in her bed and decided to go out and do _something_, anything. She couldn't just sit there and accept this to be true.

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Beckett had been at Gracie Square Hospital for what seemed like months to her, when in actual fact; she had only been there for 15 days. In that time, the gash on her forehead had heeled slightly, she had been going to regular therapy sessions and she had, much to her surprise, made friends with one Richard Castle.

"How are we this morning Miss Beckett?" Esposito asked her. He was her therapist. He asked her to call him Doctor but she slipped up every so often.

"I'm fine Espo…Sito. Dr. Esposito, I'm sorry," she rolled her eyes and looked to the floor.

"That was a little passive aggressive. Are you sure everything is okay?" he asked her with a serious face. She sighed, gave him a silent nod and went along with everything. He smiled at her in return.

"My name is Katherine Beckett. I had a car accident 2 weeks ago. I am not an NYPD Detective but I am a book store owner," she said with a monotone. Her doctors had requested that Esposito ask her to recite this every morning as some sort of treatment and reassurance for herself.

"Good, and do you believe that you are a book store owner and nothing more?" he raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

"Yes. I recognised Richard Castle because I have read his books. I do not know him personally, never have. I probably never will," her tone went from a monotone to a sad tone.

"Hey, who am I to kill your hopes and dreams?" he tried to get her to smile. She obeyed and smiled out of sheer need to leave that room, "Haven't I seen you talking with him on more than one occasion?"

"That's only because he feels sorry for me,"

"Why would he feel that way towards you?"

"He thinks I'm insane," she scoffed.

"But you're not are you?" Espo narrowed his eyes at her.

"No. I'm a bookstore owner," she threw a smug look his way.

"Right. You know I think we're done here," he said as he closed the file he had been reading from.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow Doc," she gathered her things and stood to leave.

"No. I think we're done here," he repeated.

"Excuse me?" she turned to face him as she slowly continued walking away. She really hated their sessions.

"I'm going to have a chat with your doctors. You seem to be coming along from the accident well. We may even discuss your discharge from our facility,"

"Really?" she stopped dead in her tracks. She was overwhelmed by the whole event of being thrown in to the facility because she was still unsure of why it happened, but to be told that she can leave, so soon.

"Yes. Unless you feel uncomfortable with this decision?"

"No. Of course not. I'm just… I mean I don't know where I'll go," she spoke quietly to herself. She had figured that if she wasn't who she thought she was, then she wouldn't be living in the same apartment anymore.

"Well, I imagine you would go back to your bookstore," Esposito laughed.

"Oh yeah," she laughed along with him. Kate didn't know where to go but she knew that there was no way she was staying here. After all, how hard was it to find a place to live?

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Beckett gathered all her belongings, which were considerably less than she expected due to her car accident. She still had no cell phone, the only things she had come to the hospital with were the items they managed to salvage from her car. She walked out of the room and out into the main area of the hospital where she prepared to be discharged.

"Good Evening Miss Beckett," she was greeted politely. It was funny to her, that people were more polite when they knew you weren't insane.

"Evening, Ryan?" she said with surprise. Another male nurse had come help her and it turned out to be Ryan.

"I'm sorry what?" he said as he gathered some of her belongings.

"Nothing," she rolled her eyes.

"Kate!" she turned around to see Castle walking towards her.

"Hey Castle," she said as he approached.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Rick? That's not the point. I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner sometime, because I figure that we won't be able to talk as often with you leaving now,"

Beckett was taken aback by the sudden offer, "Okay," she said slowly.

"Castle, you need rest," Lanie's voice came from an unknown location. Beckett turned around and saw Lanie standing behind her.

"No I'm fine as I am," he replied. Beckett frowned and looked between the two of them expecting an explanation. What were they talking about? She examined Castle to see if he looked fatigued in any way.

"Lanie's right Castle. You can't keep doing this," Ryan agreed.

"She needs me now," he argued, "I need to be here for her," he said sternly. Beckett felt as though they were talking about her like she couldn't hear them, or like she wasn't there. She took a few steps back and watched as Esposito approached the situation.

"This can't be good for you bro," he said as he placed a hand on Castle's shoulder.

"What? What's not good for him?" she called out to them. She felt like she almost had to yell to be heard. She could feel them moving further and further away from her, but no one was walking or moving at all. It was only as though she was watching them from a distance. No one replied to her calls.

It was like she was invisible.

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**A/N:** Okay so the beginning of this chapter was on track then the middle went a bit wonky then I wrote the end the way it is on purpose so I would confuse you guys. I hope it hasn't put you off my story. I know I said that I will make sure things make sense in Chapter 3 and if you knew what's going on it would make almost perfect sense, but I can't tell you what's going on just yet. Everything has to play out on a timed pace. (So, basically, what I am trying to say is that I think I have this under control.) I swear this makes sense to me, I wonder if any of you have figured it out yet. Anyway, I hope that this chapter is not too long nor is it too short. If you have problems with my story, don't hesitate to tell me in a review-(like I said, I can handle it) because I need all the help I can get. Thanks Xx


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Well, here I am thinking that I confused people further, when in actual fact everyone's figured it out! I feel really silly right now. (Some of you may have been just a tad off about it, but it's all good) Good Job though. Anyway, **(Please note: For this chapter she is not I the Hospital, but that doesn't mean I'm totally done with the hospital)** I wasn't sure how I could clear everything up with the Mental Hospital. I guess I've been putting it off a little bit. Sorry. So, here is the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Castle. This doesn't make me sad though because for some strange reason, I am in a good mood.

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**4 days earlier… **

Beckett had been out on a case and was now driving back to the Precinct. She had called Castle to come with her to the scene, but he didn't answer. At that moment her phone rang.

"Beckett," she answered with a slightly passive aggressive tone, "Castle I don't have time for this now, I'm driving," she loosened her grip on the phone as she prepared to hang up. Suddenly, she received a response from the person on the other line, so she held the phone in place.

"_I'm sorry…I was a little…distracted at the time," _

"Yeah well _you're_ distracting _me_ right _now_," she countered back at him. Without hanging up the phone, she threw it onto the passenger seat but it slid off and onto the floor. She groaned as she looked at the road before bending over quickly to retrieve her phone.

"_Beckett?"_ Castle's small muffled voice came through the receiving end of the phone.

When she came back to the wheel, she saw something small and furry run across the road. She swerved quickly before she could comprehend what had run across the road. She slammed hard on the breaks but she was too late and she had already hit a streetlight.

"_Kate? Talk to me! Kate? Are you alright? What happened?" _all that was heard by Castle was sound of her shrieks, the breaks screeching against the road and the car horn as Kate's head slammed against her wheel.

"_Kate!" _he knew it was pointless calling out to her. He knew what had happened but hoped to God that his assumptions weren't true. He called the NYPD so he could find out where she had gone.

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The ambulance arrived before the NYPD and before Castle. One person that was driving by pulled over and dragged out of her smoking car. They had tried not to do too much in case they made her injuries worse.

When Castle made it to the scene he saw her and lost it. He dropped down to his knees by her side.

"Oh my God, Kate! I'm so sorry," he handle seeing her in the state she was in. The paramedics took her in to the ambulance and Castle had obviously insisted that he go with her. There wasn't enough space for more than one person, so Lanie accepted the role of driving behind the ambulance.

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When they all arrived at the hospital. Castle was sitting in the ED (Emergency Department) waiting room. He had his head cradled in his hands and was sitting quietly.

"Castle," Lanie sat next to him and comforted him with one arm.

"This is my fault," he replied solemnly as he lifted his head from his hands. He rested his elbow on one of his knees and his head on his clenched fist. Lanie spoke to him while he stared at the same spot on the floor.

"None of this is any of your fault. It's no one's fault. She probably got distracted somehow-"

"Yes_. I_ was distracting her," he interrupted her with a stern tone; "I called her even though I knew she would be driving. I needed to tell her something. She was already mad at me and I needed to clarify things to her and I shouldn't have done what I did," he said without taking a breath.

"What are you talking about?" she frowned.

"I messed up. I mean, I don't know if she was-" he began to explain why Beckett was upset but was interrupted by the doctor.

"Anyone who is here with Katherine Beckett," she called out to the waiting lobby. Castle practically jumped out of his skin as he stood to walk to her, "And you are?"

"This is Richard Castle. I'm Lanie Parish. We're her _friends_," Lanie said.

"Does she have any family at all?" the doctor asked.

"Her father can't be here right now," Lanie replied.

"Okay well, she's in stable condition. She has a minor back injury, but she'll be fine. She hit her head against the steering wheel, so just don't be too over whelmed when you see her. She has a hairline fracture to her wrist, it's nothing serious but when she wakes she will just need to take it easy," the doctor spoke as they walked to her room.

"You're confident she _will_ wake up?" Lanie asked. Her voice was quivering and unsteady but she tried to remain strong.

"It's hard to say Ms Parish. These situations…comas are very unpredictable," the doctor tried to be as gentle as possible.

"So we can see her?" Castle asked quickly.

"Maybe just _one_ of you, for now. That should be ok," the doctor explained and nodded as Lanie gave Castle a knowing look.

"Are you sure?" he replied to her silent gesture.

"You better go or I'm gonna smack you," Lanie sniffed as she spoke. She was trying to lighten the mood. He nodded and gave a small smile. He then followed the doctor and went into the room to see Beckett. When he walked in, he walked in with caution, in preparation for what he was going to see.

He took a deep breath and opened the door.

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**A/N**: As I said earlier, I feel silly. Anyway, please let me know what you think of it so far. I know more people have put this story on alert (thanks by the way) but some of you haven't reviewed just yet. I know my characters are a little OOC, so tell me how I can improve. R&R Thanks Xx


	5. Chapter 5

**For Sez: **Firstly Sarah, may I say: ILY! I know that is something that people say when they're what? 5 years old? But whatever, those three letters express a lot. LOL Kidding but what they are supposed to mean is THANK YOU! Thank you for being such an awesome friend and basically an awesome person. I dedicate this chapter to you. I hope it was worth the wait (I hope it does not suck) & I hope that you will actually be able to read it! Xx

**A/N: **Could you guys please tell me if you actually want me to incorporate some Caskett in this story? My original plan was to include Caskett in it but I want your opinion. Let me know, please. Anyway, once again I thank those who have reviewed/read this story. I hope this chapter is not confusing and I hope it does not suck!

**Disclaimer**: Do not Own Castle.

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He walked into the room slowly. Everything was completely quiet, despite the fact that they were not alone and she was accompanied by other patients. Nothing was to be heard aside from the slow and gentle beeping noise coming from the Electrocardiograph machine as it measured her heart rate. Slow and steady.

He sat down beside her. He almost burst into tears when he saw her head injury. She had to be bandaged around her entire head. It looked too painful for her to bear. He felt as though he could understand how much pain she would have been in. Everything he was thinking of made him feel completely guilty for the condition she was in. He mentally punished himself.

Castle swallowed and took her hand in his. He gently squeezed it, half expecting her to retaliate in some way. _Anyway _at all, but sadly, nothing. She lay there with her eyes closed, her chest rising and retracting evenly and slowly. He reached out and brushed a small tendril of hair away from her eyes. Sniffing gruffly, he scrubbed a hand over his face, still not letting go of Beckett's hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered quietly to her unresponsive face, "I'm so sorry," he peered at her other wrist. The wrist that had been fractured and had now been covered in a cast. Castle's eyes became red, swollen and puffy. He kept staring at her in disbelief that she was in a coma _because of him. _Because of what_ he _said andwhat _he did. _

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_**Meanwhile…**_

Beckett was preparing to leave the psychiatric hospital. She asked the doctors for the address of her bookstore because she had no memory of where it was. They had told her that she had a small studio apartment just above her bookstore, all in the same building. She managed to convince herself that this information was true. She had practically been brainwashed after all those therapy sessions.

"My bookstore…" she spoke quietly to herself as one of the nurses went and retrieved her living arrangements and information from the office of the hospital. As the nurse came back and approached her, she had a sudden burst of _memory_.

"Miss Beckett, I have the-"

"My bookstore!' she exclaimed. The nurse looked at her as though she _was_ insane, "My Bookstore. I think I remember it,"

"Oh really?" the nurse asked as she peered at the small piece of paper with Kate's details on it.

"Yes. I think it's in Manhattan somewhere. Or it's called the 12th…" she trailed off and began racking her brain for anything to finish that sentence. She felt so close too. She knew that she remembered her life, even just a little bit.

"Well, you're on the right track," the nurse smiled. Beckett rolled her eyes and took the piece of paper, reading the address of her apartment. The paper didn't have the name of her bookstore, and it was really bugging her.

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She got out of the taxi and stopped in front of the building. She looked at the books on display in the front window.

"Richard Castle's Deadly Storm," she squinted at the window as she read the covers of the books to herself, "Death of a Prom Queen?" she read the title of the next book, "Sounds original," she scoffed.

Kate sighed as she remembered how she acted when she first saw Castle. Why did she feel like she knew him so well? And why did she believe that she worked for the NYPD? She glanced up at the name of her Bookstore. The large board read as _The Twelfth Precinct. _

"Of course," she said to herself, feeling trivial for even having thought that she was actually a cop of _any_ kind. Whether it be a Detective or even an ordinary Police Officer.

"The 12th Precinct," she repeated the name of her bookstore.

_Who names a bookstore the twelfth precinct?_ She thought to herself, _Apparently _you_ do Kate,_ she scolded herself.

Kate looked down at her watch and realised she had been standing outside a bookstore talking to herself for 6 minutes. She opened the door and walked up the stairs, following the instructions the piece of paper read.

"Kate! Kate Beckett!" she heard an unfamiliar voice calling out to her.

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Lanie, Ryan and Esposito walked into the hospital room the next morning, only to find Castle with his head resting face down on Beckett's bed. He was still clutching her had in his and his other hand was supporting his head. The three walked in as quietly as they could but Castle still stirred. He brought his head up from the bed and looked at Lanie, who was closest to him. She handed him the cup of coffee she and the boys had brought as a small kind of breakfast supplement. He gave a small grateful smile as he breathed in the scent of the beverage Beckett enjoyed so much.

"What time is it?" Castle broke the silence as he sipped his coffee.

"Just past eight," Ryan said as he looked at his watch.

"Oh, okay wow," he replied through a yawn he was trying to hold back.

"Castle you need rest," Lanie said. She looked at Beckett and sighed, trying to hold back her tears.

"No, I'm fine as I am," he said as he straightened his stance, as though to prove himself to Lanie.

"Lanie's right Castle, you can't keep doing this," Ryan said as he pulled a chair closer to the hospital bed.

"She needs me now," he sniffed before continuing, "I need to be here for her," he swallowed and looked back at the peaceful Beckett that lay before him. Lanie and Ryan forfeit on arguing with him.

"This can't be good for you bro," Espo added before sitting in the chair that was closest to Lanie, who looked as though she was _still _biting back tears.

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**A/N: **Wow, this is one of my longer chapters**! **Okay, I really have no opinions of my own on this chapter. I really don't know if I hate it or if I like it. Like I have said earlier, if you don't like it, then let me know (I can handle it) and also let me know if you want to see some Caskett in this story somewhere! Thanks Xx

P.S Sorry if the middle was a little bit confusing or bad in any other way at all! (Let me know! Cheers)


	6. Chapter 6

**SezzaLuvBones**: We love…We love… No I'm kidding! I bet you've had enough of me singing today! Anyway, I dedicate this chapter to you, because I know that you will actually read it! Not mentioning any names or anything but um _**MEL **_won't. Don't ask me why _**MEL**_ won't because she says she liked chapter one… Anyway, read on. (If you have internet) I'll see if I can incorporate some guy with a Texan/Southern accent in there ;)

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own Castle.

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_Kate looked down at her watch and realised she had been standing outside a bookstore talking to herself for 6 minutes. She opened the door and walked up the stairs, following the instructions the piece of paper read. _

"_Kate! Kate Beckett!" she heard an unfamiliar voice calling out to her. _

She turned around to see a woman in her late forties/early fifties beckoning her with a wave.

"Sir?" the words flew right out of Kate's mouth before she could do anything about it.

"What?" she replied. Victoria Gates walked slowly towards Kate, who was still squinting at her, as though squinting helped her remember things, "Oh, the doctors told me that you would be having some memory problems," she waved a hand in the air as though to casually brush off the fact that Kate had been in a car accident _and_ in Psychiatric Hospital.

"Okay," Kate said slowly.

"Well, I can't ignore the fact that your rent is due," Gates said with a frown.

"You're my Landlord," Kate explained to herself loudly.

"I prefer _Landlady_,"

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Before Ryan, Lanie and Esposito had all left the hospital around 3 hours after they arrived, they attempted convincing Castle to get some rest and maybe sleep in a bed for just a little while, but no such luck. So they decided they would come back later. They planned on bringing Alexis and Martha to help.

"I'll be alright. I think I might actually read some of Heat Wave," he shrugged one shoulder. At noticing the looks on all their faces, he decided to explain, "No I do not travel with copies of my own books. I saw it out in the waiting lobby and thought I would bring it here to read," their faces didn't even twitch, "Not to myself. I just thought maybe…" he trailed off and glanced at Beckett.

"Ok. Just holler if you need anything," Espo said as he brought his hand to his ear in the shape of a cell phone. He received a small nod in reply as Castle opened the first page of the book.

"_It was always the same for her when she arrived to meet the body_," he sighed when he again realised how unresponsive Beckett was.

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A few hours later, Castle had once again fallen asleep in his chair. He had long ago given up on reading to Beckett; he couldn't handle seeing her the way she was while he read a book that was based on her. She was his muse and now she was in a coma.

Castle woke up with a start when he heard footsteps.

"Alexis. Mother," he greeted groggily.

"Hey Dad. How is she?" Alexis went and sat down next to her father. He put an arm around her and hugged her closer to him, as a form of comfort.

"She's…" he trailed off and merely gestured at the woman before him. He still couldn't physically say the words: _she is in a coma_. Martha could understand where he was coming from.

"Richard…" she began to speak but couldn't find the words. So Alexis decided to help out.

"We know what happened," she blurted.

"What she means to say is, we know why you think this is _your fault_," Martha added.

"We know what you said. We know what you did, we know-"

"I understand, YOU KNOW!" Castle cracked a smile. Alexis returned his wit a small smile of her own.

"Anyway dad, we had an ulterior motive in coming here," she looked at him with a serious face.

"No. Sounds important," he said sarcastically.

"We came here to take you out to lunch," Alexis said.

"No," he replied firmly as he adjusted his seating position.

"Too late, we made reservations," Martha stood up and prepared to leave.

"No. I need to be here for her. This is my fault and I have to deal with it," he crossed his arms over his chest in protest.

"Dad, you haven't left this room in three days. Now going on _four. _If you're not going out for lunch at least come home and take a shower. But you do have to leave this room. You can come back, of course. But staying here is crazy," Alexis stood next Martha. He looked at them for a few moments and finally nodded in surrender. He was actually surprised that the hospital had let him stay that long, although she had been moved to a completely private room; he was still shocked at how lightly his presence was taken.

Castle closed the door behind him and walked with his daughter and mother. As the elevator door closed, one of the nurses went into Kate's room to give her a sponge bath. Every other time she was given a sponge bath, Castle had left the room. As she entered the room she was Kate's eyes open.

At first glance, the nurse believed that it was merely random muscle activity due to how rapidly she was blinking.

"Miss Beckett?" she asked cautiously after waiting a little while. Beckett slowly took in her surroundings. The nurse moved closer to her bed. Beckett looked at her with wide eyes.

"Where am I?" she softly asked herself.

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**A/N: **I apologise if Gates was OOC but I have never in my life ever seen an episode of Castle with her in it. I'm still on s3 of Castle (I don't know if I have already said this) So Thanks Xx R&R


	7. Chapter 7

**SezzaLuvBones**: You should really change your pen name because um… we all know you luv **me** not Bones. Kidding, Kidding… Don't forget to tease me on Friday! PLEASE! I told you that for a reason ;) Okay, here you go. The next chapter, I hope you like it!

**A/N:** Oh, thanks for all the alerts and favourites… ^.^ So we all knew the end was coming…No I'm kidding, this isn't the end of the story, but today was the end of my break. I start actual school tomorrow. I wasn't going to update today but I thought I should so that I could warn everyone that updates are going to be slower. Tomorrow might be quick but as of next week they will be slow. (For example, maybe every two days or something…)

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Castle. Etc…

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"_Miss Beckett?" she asked cautiously after waiting a little while. Beckett slowly took in her surroundings. The nurse moved closer to her bed. Beckett looked at her with wide eyes. _

"_Where am I?" she softly asked herself._

The nurse immediately left the room to go find the nearest doctor.

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Alexis and Martha had brought Castle home and given some space so he could 'freshen up'. When he finished he came down stairs and sat on the couch, next to Alexis.

"We have a confession to make," Alexis startled both Castle and Martha.

"Oh?" he replied.

"We don't actually know what happened…" she said quietly.

"I have no idea what she's talking about," Castle looked to Martha for an answer.

"We know _something_ happened," Martha tried to gently explain.

"We just don't know the details. I mean we know you did something to upset…" Alexis trailed off and began creating a series of awkward hand gestures to communicate what she was trying to say.

"Okay so why did you say you knew everything then?" he asked them calmly.

"We sort of lied," Alexis replied quietly.

"You don't say?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Richard, we needed to get you out of that hospital room," Martha tried to say as gently as possible. Castle's phone rang before he could say anything else.

"Richard Castle," he answered the phone with his full name because he didn't recognise the number that appeared on his caller I.D. He frowned slightly. A small line appeared on his forehead, as though he was concerned about something. He abruptly hung up the phone and grabbed his keys.

"Dad, where are you going?" Alexis called out to him.

"Beckett woke up," he said as the door closed behind him.

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After breaking at least 50 rules to get to the hospital as fast as he could, Castle sprinted his way to Beckett's room. The way he made his way there, he almost looked as though he was completing an Olympic event. When he arrived there, he swung the door open and startled everyone inside. Beckett was sitting up in her bed as the doctor shone a small torch in her eyes. Castle was ushered out of the room until the examination was finished. When he came back in he almost felt nervous.

Beckett sat in her bed quietly and blinked at him. He gave her small smile, she blushed. He was fighting the urge to just walk towards her and hug her. He was so happy she was okay, but he didn't want to overwhelm her. He took a deep breath and sat by her bed, where had fallen asleep so many times before. The room filled with silence once again. Beckett still had not made any gesture or facial expression towards Castle. But there was still a small flicker of recognition in her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Castle found himself blurting before he could think of what he was saying.

Beckett hesitated before doing aything. She didn't want to act on her emotions or thoughts because she was completely confused at this moment in time. She didn't know what to do, she even felt slightly scared. She had been told by the doctor that she had been in a coma because of her accident. They had said that Castle would be coming to see her, but that didn't make her any less perplexed about everything. She coughed and cleared her throat.

"Are you okay?" he asked instantly.

"Yes," she said quietly with a small nod, "I was in a car accident," she said slowly as she frowned at him.

"Yeah," he replied, not knowing how he could elaborate.

"What happened?" she felt entirely vulnerable and stupid for asking these questions, but she needed to clarify everything.

"You were on the phone and you got _distracted_," Castle thought back to how Beckett was talking to him right before she crashed.

"Oh. Okay," she looked down and began picking at her nails, "I'm a bookstore owner?" she asked out of sheer confusion. Castle looked at her with wide eyes.

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**A/N**: Okay so this chapter is slightly weird and extremely short. That is because I need to spend time getting ready for school tomorrow. I know that sounds like an easy task, but if you saw my room right now…Okay I won't get into it. Anyway, despite the length and what not, please tell me what you thought! Thanks Xx


	8. Chapter 8

**SezzaLuvBones: **This chapter is for you. I'm going to stop pressuring you into teasing me because I know it won't happen that way. You're just way too nice & also, it's not really teasing if I'm asking you to. I realise that you need to tease me on your own merit for me to actually be embarrassed because if I ask you to do it then I am prepared for it and that's just not fair. (I don't know why I did it, ok I won't get into this again, you read my note already[Oh my Gosh speaking of which…wait what the hell am I doing? I'll just talk to you tomorrow]) Ok just go on and read the chapter…and Sez, **if you've read** all of **this **then just **ignore the A/N**…My God this was long. (I edited it. It was much longer originally, but I saw some things that were completely pointless in there. Ahem…I may have started singing in my dedication again. *cough cough* ahem…)

**A/N**: We currently have a power outage in my area/city. So I have no way of doing the things that I should be doing. The time is currently 4.59pm and I have no choice but to use my dying laptop and write FF. I am **warning you**. This chapter might not be up to scratch because of these conditions.

**Disclaimer**: Don't Own Castle.  
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As soon as he had seen and talked to Kate himself, he called Lanie and the boys in too so they could see her as well. While they made their way to the hospital, he tried to talk to Kate and get some information from her.

"Why would you say that you're a bookstore owner?" he said as soon as he hung up the phone.

"Because I am. I own a bookstore by the name of the 12th Precinct. My name is Katherine Beckett and I am a bookstore owner. I do not know you, Richard Castle, personally. I only met you less than a month ago," she found herself repeating everything like she was a robot spitting out information on command.

"You got _one_ thing right when you said that," Castle explained with a serious expression. Kate looked at him with confusion in her innocent eyes, "You do work at the 12th Precinct but it's not a _bookstore_," he almost scoffed.

"No. But I'm not an NYPD detective," she insisted. After repeating those same words, day in day out for what had seemed like two weeks, she found herself believing it to be entirely true. Castle eyes softened in sadness. He needed to talk to the doctors about this. Why would she not know who she is? He had heard previously that when people come out of comas, they may experience amnesia. But he didn't know she would be _this _disoriented. She obviously didn't remember that she was mad at him.

"What do you remember about the events _before_ the accident?" he tested.

"Nothing other than what you've told me," she frowned.

"But you need to understand that I'm really sorry for what happened," he said suddenly. She frowned in confusion.

"Why are you so apologetic," she asked, "I barely even know you,"

"The doctor said that if we brought in photos, then maybe we could jog your memory," he explained, "So I asked Lanie to bring in as many as she could find. But for now, we could go through my phone if you'd like," he said gently. Kate almost felt as though he was being to condescending. She nodded and leant over to see his phone. She came as close as she could to him without invading his personal space and giving him the wrong idea. He moved in closer to her too, so she figured _the wrong idea_, was non-existent with this man.

"Who's this?" she asked as soon as she saw the first photo.

"This is Alexis. She's my daughter," he looked at her face for that flicker of recognition but sadly he received nothing. She looked up to meet his soft blue eyes and smiled at that almost familiar face. He swiped his finger across the screen to view the next photo.

"Lanie," she said happily.

"Yeah," he chuckled lightly as he swiped to the next photo. He wanted Kate to remember. He couldn't handle this different person she was. She was acting differently. It was almost as though she viewed him differently too. He wanted her memories to come back but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted them _all _to come back.

"I do love my coffee," Castle's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Kate's soft laughter. He didn't realise he had been mindlessly swiping at his phone at looking through photos blindly.

"Hey Girl," Lanie entered the room followed by Ryan and Esposito who were both holding photo albums. Lanie was empty handed and immediately walked toward the bed and hugged her friend.

"Hey Lanie," Beckett replied. She was more familiar with Lanie after having made contact with her friend.

"How are you feeling?" Lanie asked as Beckett winced whilst being hugged, "I'm sorry did I do something to your back?"

"No it wasn't you. I'm fine, well I'm as fine _as I can be_ after having been in a car accident," Beckett tried to make light of her situation.

"Do you know how long it'll be until things heal?" Ryan asked. Beckett looked at him and tilted her head. She narrowed her eyes at him and bit her lip, giving him a small shrug of her shoulders.

"Shouldn't be long," Espo added clearly seeing that Beckett was having problems with how she should be treating Ryan. After receiving the same kind of response from her when he spoke, Espo decided to sit down and wait.

"Could you maybe tell me everything that happened before the accident?" Beckett looked at Castle with a pleading expression. He almost looked panicked and worried.

"Um…What do you mean?" he asked. Beckett narrowed her eyes at him and frowned.

"Are you ok?" she asked, when she saw how worried he looked.

"Yeah!" he squeaked. Clearing his throat he tried to talk normally again, "I _just wanted to know_ how much _you wanted to know_…" he frowned at his sentence not making sense.

"Well, considering the fact that I don't know much about _anything_, then I guess you should tell me as much as you can," she laughed. He smiled as best he could, but he was still unsure of whether he wanted her to know _everything_.

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**A/N:** Ok, this is my best efforts right now. The power went out at 3pm Sunday and came on 8am Monday! So I'm posting this chapter _now_. I know it won't be good enough but it's as good as I can do right now.


	9. Chapter 9

**SezzaLuvBones: **Hey. This is my Thank You chapter. I hope you like it! **Oh by the way, I told you something about this chapter but I changed my mind…Enjoy!** _**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**A/N:** Woo! Thunder Storm outside! Anyway, here's the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **Don't Own Castle.

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It was time for Kate to be discharged from the hospital. She felt it was time to be leaving that place as well. Her injuries were healing well and she was even taking a liking to one Richard Castle, almost as though he was growing on her. It was the morning after the day they had all visited her in her bed. She was re-introduced to all her friends and she was almost back to normal. However, she still had no place to stay. Well obviously she had_ her_ place, but her doctor's had advised her to stay _with someone_ for obvious reasons. Plus, Castle and Lanie weren't allowing her to be independent any time soon.

"…just so that you can get back on your own two feet without injuring yourself further. The good news is that your memory may even snap back just like that!" the nurse snapped her fingers together for emphasis before continuing, "Ok I will leave you to it," she finished speaking and left the room as they all figured out what to do next. Lanie and Castle were the only two in the room aside from Beckett herself.

"Okay, well you can come home," Castle broke the silence with a smile.

"_Come_? _With_ you?" Kate asked quietly with a shy smile. Lanie rolled her eyes and laughed.

"No, with _me_. Sorry to burst your bubble," she said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. Yeah I knew that," Kate shrugged one shoulder but couldn't take her eyes off Castle. It broke his heart. To see her trusting eyes and beautiful smile. The fact that she relied on him because she still had no idea what had happened before her accident. He gave her a half smile in return, as not to upset her.

"Okay, once we're done being gooey eyed," Lanie interrupted their silent communications. Castle tore his eyes away from Beckett's and opened the door for her to walk through. She gave a grateful smile and made her way out.

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The three walked upstairs on their way to Lanie's apartment. Beckett, feeling the urge and need to spend more time with Castle, suggested that she eat late lunch with him.

"Okay," he replied with surprise.

"No. I will not be joining you, but thanks for the offer," Lanie said loudly.

"Oh right sorry Lanie. Why can't you come?" Beckett asked quickly.

"I have _other_ obligations and commitments," she said as she smirked between Castle and Beckett's confused glances.

"Ok. Well what a shame," Beckett replied, again, far too quickly. Castle chuckled at her quick and somewhat nervous responses.

"So, where should we go?" he asked her as Lanie walked ahead to the door of her apartment to unlock it.

"I don't know. Where _can_ we go?" she asked him as she proceeded to get lost in her own thoughts of food that _wasn't hospital food_.

"Could we maybe take this inside?" Lanie called out through the door.

Without responding to Lanie's question, Castle and Beckett walked through the door way and continued talking.

"There is a range of classy restaurants to visit Madame Beckett," Castle said as he held his arm out in front of him to welcome her into Lanie's apartment.

"Thank you," she said as she walked past him.

"Or we could just go back to my place and order in," he said as he straightened his posture, "Let me think. Ok, we could have Thai, Italian or maybe Chinese-"

"Chinese?" Kate interrupted him before he could list any other types of foods.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Chinese," she said as she squinted and stared into space. Lanie looked at her with a cocked eyebrow and excused herself from the room, receiving an acknowledging nod from Castle, but no response from a zoned-out Beckett, "Chinese. Something's familiar about it," she finally said dismissively as she turned back to meet Castle's confused gaze.

"What? You might be remembering something?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe. It's still really hazy," she said with a shake of her head, "I guess it just struck a chord, that's all. So, are we going?"

"Now?" he asked wide eyed, 'Yeah. We can go now then,"

"Lanie!" Beckett called out.

"What?" Lanie yelled back, "Let me guess, you're deserting me so you can go get nourishment into your gastrointestinal system?"

Castle wrinkled his nose at Lanie's choice of words and phrases.

"I think so," he shouted with confusion.

"Bye," was the faint response they received. Beckett shrugged and made her way to the door again. It was almost as though she couldn't get away from _that_ apartment fast enough.

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Beckett walked behind Castle. They had been silent most of the way to his loft. When they got there, Castle unlocked the door, he held it open for Beckett to come in but she hesitated. This scene was all too familiar to her. She walked towards the door and placed her hand on its smooth surface. Kate was remembering something.

"I've been here before," she said slowly, "I mean, yes obviously I have been here before. But what I meant was that I've been here _before the accident_," she explained with a frown as she stared into the empty loft, "Maybe if I went inside," Beckett walked into the apartment, but stopped abruptly after taking to small strides.

Castle was completely confused. He was confused by her actions; he was totally confused by her statement as well. He couldn't recall inviting her to his loft _before the accident_. He certainly couldn't remember her being there, even without being invited, _unless…_

Before he could finish his thoughts, they were interrupted by his cheek being stung by Beckett's warm palm hitting his it with a penetrating slap.

_She remembered what happened_.

"You lied to me!" she said sternly before walking past him and straight out the door. She was overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings. Thoughts about _that night_. Feelings form _that night_.

Castle stood frozen in the same spot. Still dumbfounded at what had just happened. He wasn't sure what to be more shocked about. Kate getting part of her memory back, or being slapped by her.

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**A/N: **This chapter was for you **SezzaLuvBones **(as in I updated specifically for you!). So please **review!** Anyway, thanks for reading everyone. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I'm not sure if everything happened too suddenly or not, please let me know in a review… Good or bad, I can take it! Thanks Xx**  
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	10. Chapter Ten

**SezzaLuvBones**: Sad. I didn't get to see you today. So, I'm updating early, just for you! xD I'm not dedicating this chapter to you because I don't think you will like it. Whoops! Anyway Post Slap- Here we go!

**A/N:** Oh My Gosh! I didn't realise how much confusion the last chapter caused! I apologise. But, just to clarify for everyone, Beckett was at Castle's loft _just before_ she had her accident, like I think let's say Two hours before she crashed her car. I hope this has cleared things up for people, but if there is anything else, then don't hesitate to PM me.

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own Castle…

**Chapter Ten **

**Co-written by Thre3 & SezzaLuvBones**

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"_I've been here before," she said slowly, "I mean, yes obviously I have been here before. But what I meant was that I've been here before the accident," she explained with a frown as she stared into the empty loft, "Maybe if I went inside," Beckett walked into the apartment, but stopped abruptly after taking to small strides. _

_Castle was completely confused. He was confused by her actions; he was totally confused by her statement as well. He couldn't recall inviting her to his loft before the accident. He certainly couldn't remember her being there, even without being invited, _unless…

_Before he could finish his thoughts, they were interrupted by his cheek being stung by Beckett's warm palm hitting his it with a penetrating slap. _

She remembered what happened.

"_You lied to me!" she said sternly before walking past him and straight out the door. She was overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings. Thoughts about _that night_. Feelings form _that night_. _

She walked as fast as she could. Not having any idea what to do now, she decided she needed time to herself and considering the fact that she didn't live alone, she figured she would go for a walk, she needed to clear her head of her thoughts. But it was impossible; all she could think about was Castle and what happened those few hours before her accident. That one small memory rolling on in her head, replaying over and over again.

***Kate's Memory***

She was standing by the door of Castle's loft. She had gone over there to tell him what she wasn't strong enough to say before.

"I love you. I love you. I love you…_too,_" she rehearsed it over and over again before she finally reached her destination. But when she got there, the door was slightly ajar. She peeked inside and the sight she saw made her heart collapse in agony. It was almost like torture for her. After having listened to what he said and then to see him in his loft with another woman. A blonde woman. Who is she? What is _she doing_ with _him_?

Kate was feeling completely insecure. But it wasn't jealousy was it? No, there was nothing to be jealous of. They were only standing and talking, totally and completely harmless. But no, the woman was moving closer to him. She was slowly reaching up for his tie and with one quick tug, their faces met with a crash and just like that their lips were locked in a kiss.

Kate felt as if her heart had shattered into a million pieces. Tears stung her eyes and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She blinked away the tears. But she still couldn't believe it because then it would mean that everything that she was working towards, everything that she had building up the courage for, had been in vain. She trusted him, she had faith in what he had told her and he had thrown that back in her face.

Without needing or wanting to see anything else she retreated and ran as quickly as she could. It disgusted her. How he could he do this? How could pour his heart out to her and then go off and do… _that_? She couldn't hold it in any longer, when she was out on the street, she burst into tears. She cupped her hand against her mouth in pain and sadness.

Interrupting her private sobs on the cold street was her cell phone's ring tone. She sucked in a breath as she tried to compose herself. Her face felt red hot from both embarrassment and from her tears.

"Beckett," she said aggressively. She had a crime scene to go to. With force of habit, she found Castle's number in her contacts list and pressed call. Quickly realising what she had done, she gasped and ended the call. She frowned at her contact list. _Castle_ in bright blue text. Her thumb hovered over the delete button but before she could gain the will power to press it, she put her phone in her pocket and made her way to the scene, _alone._

***End Memory***

The feelings of sadness and heartbreak were almost fresh in her memory. With those memories came feelings of hatred. He had _lied_ to her. He had told her that there was nothing important that had happened before her accident. She had asked him repeatedly if there was anything she should know at all, but he only gave her the same response: no. But she remembered, she remembered her feelings of love, most of all she remembered the feelings of anguish and betrayal that had been left behind by him.

After only having recently woken up from her coma, Kate still felt as though she barely knew Castle, but after having remembered that small part of what seemed like an important event, she felt that she didn't _want_ to know him at all. She wished those feelings would just go away. She didn't want to remember, but it just kept replaying over and over again. She preferred her view of Castle before she knew just the type of man he was.

Tears slowly began to trickle down her face as she once again thought back to memories of her love for him being shattered by his betrayal.

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**A/N**: Um…Review please.


	11. Chapter 11

**SezzaLuvBones: **Enter partial mushiness…*squeals* Ha-ha…not much mushiness, but definitely enough _for me!_ So deal. I don't know if you read the last chapter but, here you go anyway. You can have fun with it on Monday then.

**A/N:** The last chapter was very Beckett-ey (On Purpose). So I'm aiming to make this chapter Castle-ey. Don't hate him just yet; read the chapter, then if you want to, you can hate him. **This chapter is seriously long**. I had no intention of making it this long, so sorry :/

**Disclaimer: **Castle is not mine.

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_Castle stood frozen in the same spot. Still dumbfounded at what had just happened. He wasn't sure what to be more shocked about. Kate getting part of her memory back, or being slapped by her._

His face was emotionless. He tried to swallow the fat lump in his throat but no such luck. He slowly turned around to the door that Kate had just run out of. His thoughts went back to the night that she was there, when she shouldn't have been. What she saw had ruined everything. It was his fault, him and his blabber mouth which he couldn't keep shut until _she_ was ready. Castle's thoughts diverted back to the memory of himself, making a confession to Beckett _before_ she came to his loft.

***Castle's Recount***

He came in to the Precinct just as she decided to leave. He walked towards her desk and stood there, silent and motionless.

"Castle, I was just leaving what are you doing here?" she asked as she piled up her most recent paperwork.

"I need to talk to you," he said seriously. She began walking towards the elevator, he followed closely behind.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" she asked with a chuckle. She stopped laughing abruptly at noticing how straight faced he was. "Rick, are you okay?" she asked as she pressed the button on the elevator. The doors closed with a light bell sounding.

At hearing his first name, he looked at her and met her gaze, his eyes locking on hers. Not being able to bear the distance between them, he took one stride across the elevator and stood directly in front of her confused face. He yanked the items from her hands and threw them to the floor. As they landed with a thud, he pulled her closer to him, closing the space between them with a kiss.

It all happened too fast for Kate to comprehend. As they pulled apart, she didn't know how to react or what to do. He let out a loud sigh, almost like a sigh of…_relief_. She looked down at the floor, as though expecting him to say something.

"I love you," he blurted out. She looked back up at him, she wasn't expecting _that_.

"No you don't," she said, sounding panicked.

"What?"

"What!" she half-yelled wide-eyed. He still stood directly in front of her, now completely speechless. The elevator doors opened, he moved across the elevator and pressed a button for another floor. The doors closed and Beckett furrowed her brows, "What are you doing?"

"I said I needed to talk to you," he said calmly.

"Here?" she looked at him sceptically, "You're gonna have to explain what that was," she said referring to the impromptu kiss and the sudden statement.

"You're actually a lot calmer than I thought you would be," he said, almost returning back to his normal non-serious state of mind.

"You _planned_ this?" she tried to hold back a smile that almost broke out across her face.

"No…" he said weakly. She was still confused about what he was getting at and she wanted him to get on with it.

"Cas-" before she could finish, the elevator suddenly jerked and stopped. Her eyes searched every corner of the elevator in frustration. Castle narrowed his eyes guiltily.

"I'm sorry," he squeaked quietly. Beckett began looking around worriedly, pulling at her collar.

"Do you get nervous in small, confined spaces?" she asked quickly as she began breathing deeply. Castle frowned and swallowed audibly before answering.

"No," he croaked. His lip began quivering, "Do you?"

She rolled her eyes and dropped the act, "How are we going to get out?"

"That wasn't funny,"

"It was a little funny," she said as she raised her eyebrows and moved in the direction of the security camera, located in the corner adjacent to where she was currently standing. She placed her hands on her hips and looked up at it in concentration.

"Think they can hear us?" Castle asked her as he raised his own brows beyond his fringe.

"No," she said shaking her head as she gave up and sat on the floor of the elevator.

"What are you doing?" he asked in shock.

"The camera's not going to help any. We're just going to have to wait," she shrugged as she collected her paperwork he had thrown to the floor.

"You didn't even try your cell phone," he said as he whipped his out.

"You're not going to get any signal in here," she snorted, "Even if you did, who are you going to call, that would actually be able to get us out?"

"Superman," he pouted.

"Sit down Castle," she said, watching as he obeyed. Her lips quirked into a small devious smile that Castle didn't notice.

"What?" he asked. She shook her head and coughed slightly, "Are you okay?" he asked out of genuine concern for her well-being.

"Yeah. Just…How much air do you think we have in here?" she asked as she rubbed her hand across her neck, as though she was having trouble breathing. Castle unconsciously took in a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. How much?" he asked panicked.

"Maybe…I mean at most, 2 or 3…_years_," she said smiling. Castle's shoulders relaxed as he rolled his eyes and she started laughing.

"You know, I wasn't kidding," he said solemnly, yet still randomly out of the blue.

"I was," she continued laughing, unaware of what he was referring to.

"No, I mean earlier," he said. She stopped laughing and looked at him, "I _do_ love you," he finished and waited expectantly for a reply. When he didn't get one, he decided to continue talking, "I want to be with you Kate. I need to be with you. You know that I've done enough research for 100 books, I don't come back to the Precinct to help you solve murders. I come back because I need to see you,"

Beckett sat silently and listened to his ramblings. It was too overwhelming for her, he just wouldn't stop. When he stopped she put her hand on his knee and cleared her throat, "Castle. I don't think I'm ready…for this right _now_," she said slowly. She opened her mouth as though she was going to continue but the elevator jerked again and slowly started moving. She stood up and took her paperwork into her arms. The doors opened and she was greeted with fresh air, which she had missed. They had been in the elevator for approximately 35 minutes, and apparently she was eager to get out. Was it the stale air in the elevator or was it her proximity to Castle? He still sat on the floor and ran his hand through his hair. Before standing up, he took his cell phone out of his pocket once more to call a certain number.

"Hey Gina,"

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He went back to his loft and ordered Chinese as he waited for Gina's arrival. He didn't know why he called her but, he needed someone to talk to and she was the first person he thought of, aside from Beckett herself. He had finished organising the food on his table when he heard a knock at the door. He opened the door, took her coat and welcomed her in.

"What's all this about?" she asked as she sat on the couch. He followed her, unknowingly leaving the front door slightly ajar.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see you. You know, just talk," he said as he handed her a drink. He sat down next to her on the couch, "We've been _talking_ a lot lately so I just figured…" he sensed that she was uncomfortable or at least confused so he stood up and made his way over to the table where he had left the food. He hadn't expected it, but she followed him.

"Rick," she said quietly. He turned to face her, playing with his tie nervously, "We both know why you called me here," she stated as she slowly picked up his tie.

"We do?" he asked nervously.

"You told me about your feelings for Detective Beckett," she said. She continued to move closer to him, still making him nervous. The suddenly with one quick tug, he found his face meeting hers. His eyes widened with shock. He thought he may have imagined it, but for a moment he saw a small flicker of familiar brown hair by the front door. As though someone had turned to leave in a hurry. He quickly pulled himself away from Gina.

"Kate?" he asked quietly as he frowned at the door. He was hoping that wasn't her, but knew that it probably was_. Oh God_. How long was she standing there for? He turned back to look at Gina, "Knowing everything I had told you about my feelings for her, why would you do _that_?" he tried to speak sternly, without raising his voice.

"I thought you looked like you needed comfort," she scoffed. He shook his head in frustration, "Come on Rick. Why else would you come crawling back to me?"

"Why _would_ I? I love her," his voice increased a few decibels. His phone began to ring, he moved to answer it, but she continued to argue with him.

"She doesn't seem like the kind of person you could hold onto. She's a cop. A _homicide detective_," she raised her voice slightly too.

"Don't you talk about her that way. She's not some high school fling I can just _get over_," Castle had gone into full-fledged yelling by now. Gina really had a way of bringing out the worst in him, "I shouldn't have to listen to this. Just go,"

"Rick. I really-"

"Get out." He lowered his voice, but that didn't make him any less intimidating and in some ways, a little harsh. He stood by the door and held it open for her. She took her belongings and gave him one last apologetic glance before exiting the loft. She really didn't mean to overstep and really didn't want to sound _that_ harsh. He breathed a sigh of exhaustion and made his way over to his phone to see who had called.

Missed Call: _Beckett_.

He stared at the screen, unable to grasp the fact that he had missed a call from her. _She_ had called _him._ It could have been about anything, but still it was a call, _from her_. He plonked himself down on his couch and began picking at a box of Chinese take-away, figuring he could just call her later.

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It was around 40 minutes to an hour later when he finally decided to grow a pair and just call her back. He picked up his phone and dialled her number.

"Beckett," she answered with a slightly passive aggressive tone, "Castle I don't have time for this now, I'm driving,"

"I'm sorry…I was a little…distracted at the time," he said without an introduction to the topic he was referring to. He knew that she would immediately understand what he was trying to get at.

"Yeah well _you're_ distracting _me_ right _now_," she countered back at him. He heard some clattering sounds over the phone and pulled it away from his ear slightly, in confusion. He heard a muffled groan.

"Beckett?" he asked, no response. Suddenly he heard her shriek in surprise. He could clearly hear her slam on the breaks and suddenly a loud thud. All that was heard after the thud was the constant, never ending sound of her car horn. He began to panic as he figured what these sounds could mean. "Kate? Talk to me! Kate? Are you alright? What happened?" he knew what had happened, but he hoped and prayed to God that he was wrong, "Kate!" he yelled once more before hanging up the phone. He called the NYPD as quickly as his hands would let him.

***End Recount* **

He sat down on his couch and tried to shut his mind off, unable to relive the memories of the accident. All that he heard was far too graphic for him to live through again.

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**A/N: **This chapter was just SO LONG! I don't think I can write anymore for at least another week now! It took so much effort, so please acknowledge my hard work with a review. Don't make me cry now. (Insert Laugh Here) Thanks Xx


	12. Chapter 12

**SezzaLuvBones: **I hope you feel better! This chapter is my attempt at you-know-_what_. (So no. Voldermort will not appear in this story) Read on & Enjoy. Go Ashleigh! (I promised I would give her a shout out!)

**A/N**: Ok, sorry about all the confusion in the last chapter. I will try to clarify things for people. Castle remembers this happening, he was just unsure if Beckett was there. If there is anything that is completely and totally out of whack for you and you really just don't understand what the hell this story is on about, then PM me.

**Disclaimer:** Don't Own Castle.

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_He sat down on his couch and tried to shut his mind off, unable to relive the memories of the accident. All that he heard was far too graphic for him to live through again._

He felt as though everything was his fault and he needed to do something about it. He wanted to tell her it was just a mistake. He needed to go and see her. Quickly grabbing his phone he dialled her number and cursed when he hit the wrong button. He stood up and held his phone to his ear, scrubbing a hand over his face in anticipation of her answer. It kept ringing continuously but still nothing. He tried to convince himself that there was still hope for him, and he hoped that she didn't hate him for keeping something like that from her. Why did he do that? Would it have been so hard to just tell her the truth? Sure, she wouldn't have been happy, but it still would have been better than the response he got from her when she remembered everything herself. Wait, how much did she remember?

Without even thinking of where he would look, Castle grabbed his keys and got into his car. He was determined to find Kate now.

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_Tears slowly began to trickle down her face as she once again thought back to memories of her love for him being shattered by his betrayal. _

Kate's walk didn't last long. She saw a park close by, so she went and sat down on a park bench. She swallowed as she wiped away more tears. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she read the time through blurred vision. _6.23pm._ The park was completely deserted, to be honest, she wished I t wasn't. At that moment, she was desperate to escape the feelings of emptiness that were overwhelming and too much for her to handle alone. She decided that if she couldn't escape those feelings then she would just have to find a distraction. Her blood shot eyes darted around her surroundings, when they finally landed back on her lap. She picked up her phone as it startled her with sudden ringing that was a call from Castle. She stared at the screen, almost like Déjà vu. She remembered staring at his name in bright blue text on her phone's screen. Beckett wanted to answer the phone but she really had no idea what she would say. It stopped ringing; her problem was solved. Still not having much to claim of her memory, she figured the text messages would help.

It appeared that she had a heap from Lanie. She read through the messages, half smiling at how she could imagine Lanie saying the things the messages read. It wasn't in her memory but she still felt as though she knew Lanie, which was more than she could say for Ryan and Espo. Sure she was familiar with them, but she still didn't have a feel for them like she had with Lanie…and Castle. She didn't want to admit it, but up until that outburst, she was beginning to…_fall for him_? She rubbed her hand across her stomach, in attempt to sooth her "butterflies". She took in a deep breath as the wind briskly sighed. She glanced at her surroundings once more. A single street lamp dimly lit the park. All she could see was the occasional car drive by and the beautiful green trees swayed side to side slowly. Almost in a hypnotising pattern.

Why couldn't time stand still? Would it be so bad if she just sat there, on that old bench with paint slowly peeling away? In the middle of an empty park at 6.34 in the evening? Would it be so horrible for her to just bask in the loneliness she was experiencing at that moment? She almost felt as though she _was_ on the right track but her memory had destroyed it. She didn't mean it, she did want her memory back but why did those memories have to be so heart breaking? Her chest tightened as her thoughts pulled back to _him_ once again. She was still unwilling to admit that she _loved_ him. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to hold back tears. She looked up and thought she saw him strutting across the lawn. She blinked hard this time and the tears fell down her face again. Now, she was crying in front of him. She clenched her jaw in anger at her naked emotion.

"How did you find me?" she asked as he finally approached her. She stared directly at the ground and refused to look up.

"You're not that far from the loft," he mumbled. She really wasn't, she had only gone half a block away. The wind blew briskly across his face. He looked down at her, she still didn't make any form of eye contact with him but she had raised her head slightly. Her body shook slightly as winds coursed between them. Detecting her shiver, he pulled her up from the bench with one hand. She physically tightened under his touch. She kept looking down at the floor. Kate knew that as soon as she looked at him, her feelings of anger would drain away. His warm hand graced her face and he pried it upwards to face him.

Her gaze met his warm blue eyes and she almost fell as she went weak at her knees. He swiped his thumb under her eye, to stop her from crying. He leaned in closer to her, his forehead against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

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**A/N**: Oh, I hope they're not OOC. Let me know please! By the way, This is _my_ present to _you_ because birthday is coming up. YAY! I know that sounds hell self-centred but, if I'm ever going to be self-centred it will be on my birthday thank you. *Joking* R&R Thanks Xx


	13. Chapter 13

**SezzaLuvBones**: Smiley Face! I added some more to it…But this isn't the whole chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Castle is not mine. Damn I was just getting over that!

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_He swiped his thumb under her eye, to stop her from crying. He leaned in closer to her, his forehead against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him._

The next morning Beckett woke up to unfamiliar surroundings. She lay there, still. She thought back to the events of the previous night. She jumped out of bed and headed for the shower.

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Castle jumped as he heard the sound of his shower being turned on. Alexis and Martha had gone to a concert the previous night and stayed in a hotel room. He cringed at hearing the scraping noise the spatula made when he stroked it against the pan. He piled the fresh pancakes onto a plate as he was approached by Beckett, who appeared beautiful in the morning light but for some reason, more serious than ever. She sat down in front of him as he presented her with warm pancakes coated in glistening brown syrup, which were topped with freshly cut strawberries. She had to admit, they looked pretty good.

"Morning," she half mumbled as he handed her a fork, "Pancakes," she stated with a half-smile.

"What's wrong? I thought you liked pancakes," he said as his forehead wrinkled with concern.

"No, I just…_remember _what Espo and Ryan said about pancakes for breakfast," she said with cocked eyebrow. She looked up to face him and noticed that he was still confused, "Ok I think you might have the memory problems," she frowned and watched as he slowly began to piece together what she was getting at. Then it clicked in his head, and she could almost the light bulb shine brightly above his head.

"Oh about…_the morning after_," he said shyly. He slapped a hand on his forehead; he really had no idea she would think about that, he certainly hadn't.

"Thank you so much for last night," they said in unison. At realising how it sounded when it came out of their mouths, they both decided to avoid eye contact for as long as possible.

"Just know that I didn't mean it like that," he panicked and tried to explain himself.

"Yeah I get it, but…" she trailed off and began fiddling with her fork again, "We need to talk,"

Castle's face fell in sadness, "Did you have to start the topic with _that_ statement?"

"_Please_ be serious for a minute," she said as she bit her lip.

"How can I? You're sending me mixed signals here," he raised his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair, "Look, I just need to know what you want," he rested his hands against the counter top.

"I don't know what I want. You're expecting me to be in control and strong and always decisive. That's the _Beckett _you know. But that's not me, I'm…I'm _Kate_. I don't know what I want. I don't even know who I am. I barely even know you," she ended her sentence quietly and looked down.

"But last night-"

"Last night was... Last night was_ Kate_ acting on her emotions," she frowned at how her sentence made sense in her head didn't when it was spoken aloud.

"I'm sorry. I know what happened last night was out of the blue and I guess impulsive in some ways," he stopped talking, figuring that she didn't need a recap, considering the fact that she was there. "We're all trying to get through this together. We know this is hard on you, because it's hard on all of us," he tried to sympathise with her but it failed.

"It's not just hard. It's confusing. I'm so confused right now. I mean I was starting to get to know you and then I remembered you. I felt like you betrayed me! Now I'm completely confused because…" she placed her hands on her temples. Castle kept his mouth shut in anticipation that she hadn't yet finished talking. She sucked in a shallow breath before continuing, as though she was trying to get this out of the way, "Because I may not know who you are, but…I think I might be in love with you,"

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**A/N**: Review please?

**SezzaLuvBones**: Sneak peek for you! Not my last chapter but I thought I should give you this because of what happened earlier today…Did you like it? Please review! Oh and by the way remember when I was said there was something I couldn't include because it was far too weird? Yeah, I included it anyway ;)


	14. Chapter 14

**SezzaLuvBones**: Here you go! I hope this is mushy enough for you! Believe it or not, Ashleigh's ramblings actually helped...I know it scared me too! And how do I keep you in suspense? Oh, forget it, I will tell you later ;) Shout out for Ashleigh! And Sez, I hope you're happy, this chapter is seriously huge, because of you!

**WARNING**: This chapter is MASSIVE because it is the last chapter. So in commemoration of this, I am ignoring the word count…Enjoy. (If it's not too exhausting)

**Disclaimer**: I do not Own Castle. I own _**a**_Castle, but I don't think that's relevant.

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"_It's not just hard. It's confusing. I'm so confused right now. I mean I was starting to get to know you and then I remembered you. I felt like you betrayed me! Now I'm completely confused because…" she placed her hands on her temples. Castle kept his mouth shut in anticipation that she hadn't yet finished talking. She sucked in a shallow breath before continuing, as though she was trying to get this out of the way, "Because I may not know who you are, but…I think I might be in love with you,"_

She exhaled, relieved that she had finally said it. It had been eating her up inside the entire time she knew him. From the moment she woke up and first laid her eyes on him. His kind features, so concerned about her. Before she got any lost further in her thoughts she returned back to reality and took in his reaction to what she had just told him. It _was_ a big deal. It was a _huge_ deal. But why was he so quiet?

Castle stood there, his head shot up as soon as he heard her say it. There they were; the words he had waited so long to here. She had spoken them aloud. It was completely unreal to him. He looked at her; she seemed to be lost in her own world, until suddenly her expression went from being confused, about her emotions, to being totally perplexed.

"Rick?" she asked, her voice quavering slightly, "Say something," she urged. Oh no, was it too soon. Was it the wrong time? She looked down at her pancakes, when he began to speak.

"I-" before he could finish speaking they heard voices from outside the door and then suddenly it flew open, revealing Alexis and Martha talking to each other a mile a minute, barely noticing who else was in the loft. As soon as the door flung open, Beckett's and Castle's heads both flew to the door in surprise of the sudden outburst. Beckett quickly grabbed her belongings and stood up. She started fumbling and stuttering.

"Oh hi," Alexis said upon noticing the couple eating breakfast. She turned her attention to the fumbling Detective, "Do you need some help?" she asked as she rushed to her side.

"No I'm fine, thanks," she said, sounding out of breath as she straightened her stance.

"It looks like you haven't finished your breakfast. We're sorry for interrupting," Martha chimed in.

"No. I just- I mean…Because I have to leave…and…" Beckett started making awkward hand gestures vaguely pointing between herself, Castle and the door. She slapped her hands against her thighs in frustration. She sighed and continued speaking, "I've…um I should get to…work," she blurted, without thinking properly.

"Oh but Richard told me that you don't start work for another week," Martha said with slightly wider than usual eyes. Kate looked back at Castle, who looked own in shame. She turned back to Martha, her cheeks flushing a bright crimson as she smiled to try and hide it. She definitely looked like she needed to be rescued. Castle immediately took over the conversation.

"Well how was the concert Ladies?" he clapped his hands together and joined the group of women who were standing in front of him.

"Oh my Gosh-" before Alexis could start her rant, she noticed Beckett awkwardly standing there. She waited for her to see her out before continuing, "Why would she come all the way over here just for a breakfast she didn't even finish?" Alexis whispered in her Grandmother's ear as they both watched the pair walk to the door, "I mean I don't want to jump to conclusions, but-"

"Don't jump to conclusions, but don't be completely naïve dear," Martha said as she folded her arms across her chest. She smiled when she noticed Beckett turn and look behind at them.

"They're talking about us," she said through clenched teeth before turning back to the door. As soon as they got to the door, they exchanged awkward goodbyes.

"Have lunch with me later," he said quickly. He hadn't planned anything; it just popped into his mind at that moment. He was startled by the sudden gesture as well. She figured it would to make up for what he hadn't said this morning. She accepted and he agreed to call her with details, when he figured them out himself. He closed the door and turned back to the two women who now both had their arms folded across their chests, expecting answers.

"What was that about?" Alexis asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"How long had she been here for?" Martha asked with a sly smile.

"Is there something going on?" Alexis asked hurriedly.

"I don't know but I got to go," he said as he speedily walked to his office. Alexis rolled her eyes as Martha followed him.

"It seems you're always leaving when we get home. Especially for Kate," Alexis pointed out in annoyance at the fact. She wasn't mad at anyone in particular, just the constant bad timing.

"This has only happened once before," Martha said as she casually walked out of Castle's office.

"Still. Shouldn't we at least know where you're going?" Alexis called out as he ran past her and straight to the door. He stopped in his tracks and turned to her, a cheeky smile spread across his face.

"Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. New York," he said as he walked out the door. Alexis frowned upon hearing the address, she looked at Martha for answers.

"Isn't that the address for-" she scratched her head with one finger as Martha finished her sentence.

"Tiffany & Co." she replied with a nod and a sigh before walking away and dismissing the whole ordeal.

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That entire morning, Castle spent on his cell phone. Calling different places. When he was confident he had everything planned out exactly as he wanted it to be, he finally called Beckett.

"Castle?" she asked when she saw the caller I.D on her phone's screen.

"Normally you answer the phone by stating your _own name_," he said.

"_Really? Why are you calling me? I don't really feel like talking right now,"_ she said quietly.

"Look, I'm sorry about this morning. I _need_ to talk to you. Where are you?"

"_I'm at Lanie's,"_ she said distractedly.

"Is Lanie there?" he asked, sounding out of breath.

"_No, she went to work. Castle what are you doing?" _

"I'm running," he stated matter-of-factly.

"_That explains so much," _she said sarcastically and uninterestedly.

"I'm coming over," he said. All she heard was the slam of a car door. She was reading a book and this conversation was only getting in the way for her, she wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying, until she heard the last sentence.

"_What? Why?"_ she immediately sat up straight. She had been slouching whilst she was reading.

"Be there in twenty," he said and then hung up the phone. Beckett quickly put the book away and tidied the apartment. Nothing was out of place, but after what had happened earlier that morning, she was feeling jumpy and nervous. For what only seemed like ten minutes, she was buzzing around until she heard a knock at the door. She stopped dead in her tracks and then she wondered why she had stopped. Was she afraid of the door? Afraid of answering the door? Afraid of what waited behind that door? What opening the door could lead to?

"_Just answer the door,"_ she scolded herself. She walked over the door and opened it to reveal Castle standing there with his hands in his pockets. Before she could say anything, he walked straight passed her and into the apartment. He turned around so he could face her when he spoke.

"Come on, we're going to the beach," he stated as he grabbed her hand and yanked her in the opposite direction.

"But-" she yelped before he cut her off.

"But what? You're dressed fine for the beach if that's what you're worried about. Could you please just trust me?" he began to speed walk and pulled her along with him. She ran behind him, trying not to trip.

"But why?" she asked.

"Because I am a ruggedly handsome and trustworthy guy," he stated with a furrowed eyebrow. When he got outside the apartment building, he abruptly stopped, causing Beckett to bump into his back. She let go of his hand and stood by his side as he hailed a cab. When it pulled over he opened the door for her, "Sorry," he said as he noticed she was rubbing her nose in pain. When he got in to the cab from the other side, she looked at him with complete and utter scepticism, "What?" he asked smiling.

She loved to see him smile. A small smile tugged at her lips, she tried not to let it break free, "_But why_ are we going to the beach?"

"It's a surprise," he replied. There it was again, that smile that she couldn't resist. She smiled, rolled her eyes and looked out the window, when suddenly she him slide his warm hand in hers again. She turned around to see him facing the window as well, with feigned innocence. As they prepared to get out of the car when they reached their destination, Kate stopped and looked out the window in awe. She had never seen any scene that beautiful.

The sky was a slight pink in colour, the sun was still in the sky but it would be setting soon. She got out of the car and followed Castle when he beckoned her. He led her to the sand and asked her to take her shoes off. She followed all the instructions he gave her, even when he told her to double cuff her pants, purely out of curiosity. She noticed that he continuously looked at his watch before he told her to do anything.

"How do you feel about a treasure hunt?" he asked childishly.

"Castle," she said with a monotone.

"Ok, fine, follow me," he pouted and led the way once more until he reached a completely secluded area on the beach, "Ok, look for something here," he said. She was standing around three meters away from him with a cocked eyebrow. She sighed and gave in to his game. Taking only two steps towards him, she pointed at the sand behind him.

"I'm guessing _X marks the spot_, huh?" she yelled to him as she made her way to the giant X that had been drawn in the sand. He put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly, quietly behind her. She reluctantly dropped down to her knees. She looked up at him with a disbelieving face, "Why are you making me do this?"

"I needed to talk to you about this morning," he said. She stood up and brushed the sand off her pants. She looked up at him and he shook his head at her, "Would you please just trust me?" she rolled her eyes and fell to the floor once more. She flicked some sand in different directions until she felt a hard surface. Beckett reached downwards and pulled out a long green box. She blew excess sand from the lid, staring at it as though it was a foreign object she had never seen before.

He smiled at her and looked down at his watch. She looked between him and the box in her hands.

"Um…" she didn't know what to say, he gave a certain look that urged her to open the box. She gently lifted the lid of the box open only to find a large white space with nothing in it. She frowned and looked at Castle, who immediately placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face the sun. He looked at his watch once more.

"Close your eyes," he ordered politely. She closed her eyes and felt the cold metal of a silver necklace grace her bare neck.

"Don't open your eyes yet," eh quickly said before she opened them, "Okay, you can open them ….now,"

Her eyes slowly fluttered open to the beautiful sight of the sun setting. Something she felt like she had never seen before or something she didn't remember seeing. There was rarely anything that could make Kate Beckett say it took her breath away, but this was definitely one of those circumstances. For a moment she forgot about the necklace he had put around her neck, she was too engrossed in the sight she was seeing. She placed her hand on her neck and pulled the unclasped necklace off her neck and into her closed fist. She was about to open her palm when he placed his own hand over hers.

"Okay before you see it, I need to say this," he exclaimed quickly, "Sorry for yelling,"

"Castle…what-what is all of this for?" she couldn't tear her eyes away from her closed fist. Finally she looked at him, her eyes locking on his.

"I messed this whole thing up. In the elevator, I just came out with it and that's not the way things should be done. I-" he abruptly stopped his speech when Kate began waving one arm in the air frantically. As though she was fanning the air in front of her face, "What are you doing?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

"I needed to sneeze but it's gone now," she pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Yes I always imagined this moment would play out exactly like this," he smirked and shook his head. Kate's eyes lit up at the realisation of something. She narrowed her eyes at Castle and turned to look at the setting sun before turning back once more to Castle's now confused face.

"You planned this?" she asked rhetorically. She titled her head at him and thought back to what he had been acting like, "You planned this," she stated, "You brought me here perfectly in time for me to see the sunset when you gave me this necklace. You organised everything," she choked on her last few words, almost as though she was trying to stop herself from crying. She looked down at her still closed fist, clutching the cold necklace.

Castle nodded before he continued his speech, "I wanted to do this before, but I acted like an idiot and you crashed your car because of _me_. I didn't give you time to actually think about it. I opened my fat gob and it only pushed you away further," before continuing his speech, Castle turned himself to face the sunset, Beckett followed his actions out of routine, "I just figured that maybe I could say things better if I write it down," he nodded towards her closed fist ad indicated for her to look at the necklace.

She slowly opened her fist and feasted her eyes on the beautiful Tiffany necklace that lay in her hand. It shined clean silver. There was a heart shaped pendant on it, just above a slightly larger K pendant and a B pendant. Everything was arranged together as a kind of drop necklace. She turned its face over to read the small engraving on it. _I love you_

She put the whole necklace together in her head to be read as a sentence, _I love you K.B_

A small smile tugged at her lips as she looked up at him with watery eyes.

"Kate, I want to be with you. I couldn't stand to be away from you when you were in a coma. I haven't stopped thinking about you from the moment I met you. Apparently I can't create coherent sentences when I'm not around you or when I'm talking about you. I love you and I want you to come live with me-" Castle cupped both his hands to his mouth and shut his eyes tight.

Kate stood next to him, her eyes as wide as saucers. Castle frowned and ruffled his own head, "I wasn't supposed to say that," he curled his hands into fists and let them rest at his sides. He relaxed his left hand when he Beckett come closer to him and intertwine her fingers with his. She sniggered at how much of an obsessed love struck teenager he looked like. She leant her head against his shoulders.

"I _don't_ remember anything about us in an elevator. I _don't_ blame you for the car crash. I _can't_ believe you bought me a Tiffany & Co. necklace. I _refuse_ to think about how expensive this would have been. But… I _am_ ready now, and I _do_ love you," she kept her head against his shoulder and handed him the necklace, signalling for him to put it around her neck. He obeyed and moved from beside her to behind her. She lifted her hair up and he put the necklace around her neck a second time. When he was done, he walked around her and stood before her, holding his hand out for her to hold. She blushed but held his hand in hers.

They both comprehensive. As though years of weight had been lifted off their shoulders and they were free. They were finally on the same page. They felt the same way about each other and they had told one another. They felt like they had no worries in the world, so walked into the sunset hand in hand, together with nothing to keep them apart.

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**The End!**

**A/N: **Were they OOC? Please tell me what you think in a review! And also please tell me if you want an Epilogue! I will only write one if I get at least 4 reviewers requesting it because… That can be my _real_ birthday present to _you_, considering the fact that it is only my birthday _today!_ So let me know! **SezzaLuvBones: **Sez, please note that I need the 4 reviewers to be someone other than you ;)

Thanks for reading my story, writing keeps me sane and knowing that someone is reading it keeps double sane. So thanks again, I hope you enjoyed it… Later Xx


	15. Epilogue

**SezzaLuvBones:** Eh? Okay, probably not what you were expecting, but…whatever.

**A/N**: Because so many (more than expected) requested this, I am writing it! I hope it lives up to your expectations.

**Disclaimer**: I Do Not Own Castle & don't make money from this story, but it was fun to write :D

**Epilogue**

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_They felt the same way about each other and they had told one another. They felt like they had no worries in the world, so walked into the sunset hand in hand, together with nothing to keep them apart. _

Or so they thought. For the two hours they spent alone on that beach and eating lunch together, almost everything was perfect. In fact _everything _**was** perfect. But they needed to snap back into the real world eventually. Castle sat across from Beckett at a table as she ate her meal. He couldn't stop staring at her. She was so beautiful, without even trying. Everything about her was something to love. He felt like he couldn't live without her.

"Castle," she said. He was so lost in staring at her it was as though her voice was a distant fog horn in blistering cold sea storm. The statement sounded much more romantic in his head.

"Yeah?" he said dazedly as he straightened his stance, "You're probably just trying to cover up for the fact that _you _were staring at _me_," he said as he tried to turn the tables.

"What?" she said with a drone.

"You were fantasizing about me," he teased.

"Oh you know what, I take it back. I don't love you," she pouted whilst smiling at the same time.

"Ah, you say that now. But you can't resist my charm," he smiled and she looked away, trying not to grin.

Kate began to rummage through her bag in search of her phone, so she could check the time. She searched frantically as Castle attempted to not stare at her and get lost in his thoughts about spending the rest of his life with her, "I can't find my cell," she said calmly, "I left it at Lanie's," she sighed in annoyance.

"Do you want to go get it then?" he asked as he prepared to leave.

"Could we please? I would call to see if Lanie's home, but…" she gave another exasperated sigh. They headed off towards the streets as Castle hailed a cab, "I am much more forgetful than I thought," she tried to lighten the mood and mock her memory problems, "I'm pretty sure if I crash my car and lose my memory, then the next time I drive somewhere I'll probably kill us both," she continued to ramble as he opened the cab door for her. He smiled at her, in appreciation of the jokes she was attempting.

But his smile soon faded as he brought himself back to the reality of his situation. Everything was out in the open and there was nothing to hide now, he was happy. From what he could see, she was happy too. But his relationship status affected his family too. Of most importance, Alexis.

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Kate pulled out her keys and chuckled nervously as she opened Lanie's apartment door.

"Where have you been?" Lanie greeted them with a knowing smile spread wide across her face. Her eyes flicked from Beckett's face to Beckett's neck and her jaw dropped upon noticing the shiny necklace draped across the bare neck. Beckett unconsciously placed her hand on the necklace as her eyes widened.

"Hey Lanie," Castle said embarrassedly as he appeared from behind Beckett.

"Well, well, well. What's going on here?" she said as she put down any items she was holding and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lanie, we have to tell you something," Beckett took one step forward.

"Uhuh," she said, egging Beckett on.

"See I took Kate-"

"Kate?" Lanie cut Castle off, immediately recognising that they were suddenly on a first name basis.

"Lanie, Castle and I are-"

"Together?" Lanie cut them off with another huge smile. Castle looked down and shuffled his feet on the floor. Beckett cleared her throat and gave small nod. Castle shut his eyes tightly, expecting Lanie to be jumping out of skin with happiness. He opened them again, only to see Lanie standing in the same spot, with the same facial expression.

"Are you ok?" Beckett asked with complete and utter confusion.

"It's about time," she said suddenly, "Do you know how much money I've lost on you two?" she pointed a finger between the two. At noticing Beckett's blank expression she continued talking, "Wit the pools and bets?" at hearing this, Castle rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smile that was threatening to break out across his face. Beckett still couldn't remember what Lanie was talking about.

"Nice to see you're happy for us," Castle chuckled.

"Oh no I would have been ok even if you weren't together. Now _I'm extremely_ happy _and_ rich," she said with a sly smile. Beckett had already walked away to go and retrieve a phone. When she came back, Castle gave her a certain look that said 'Let's go'

"We have to deal with Alexis and _Mother_," he said with a slight shudder, "We'll be back Lanie," he reassured her and opened the door for Beckett.

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"Where are they?" Alexis paced the living room, while her Grandmother sat and read.

"I don't know," she replied with little to no interest.

"Why is he being so cryptic with all of this? Lately everything has been about _her_," she said, jealously lacing her tone.

"She was in a _car accident_," Grams pointed out.

"Key word being _was_," she spat with envy. She sat down on the couch and tried to calm herself down. Kate had been in an accident and that definitely meant she deserved attention. But why was he going to Tiffany's?

"What?" Grams said, snapping Alexis out of her thoughts.

"I didn't say anything," she said as she almost jumped out of her skin.

"You _weren't saying anything_ very loudly," Grams said when the door suddenly opened a crack. Castle poked his head though as a form of greeting, which earned him a frown from both Alexis _and_ Martha. He felt as though he was a teenager, bringing his girl home to meet the parents. He opened the door fully and pulled Kate in by her arm, gently. Martha stood almost the same time Alexis had practically jumped up off the couch. Alexis stood still, her arms folded across her chest, with a flat expression on her face.

"Sorry we're late," Castle said, as an attempt to break the ice. Beckett came in and could was now fully visible. The first thing Alexis' eyes settled on was the sparkling frosting on her neck.

"Where were you?" she demanded.

"At the beach," Castle replied calmly as he took Beckett's coat and hung it up in a closet.

"So why did you go to Tiffany's?" she interrogated. Castle raised his eyebrows at how scary his daughter could really be.

"Sorry_ mom_, I was buying Kate a gift," he said as he gestured to Beckett's neck.

"So are you guys an item now?" she asked rudely as she threw Beckett a certain look.

"I'd have to say we're more than an item Alexis," Castle replied sternly.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation," she spat back at him.

"Excuse me?" Castle was astounded at Alexis' attitude right now.

"I mean what does she get out of this relationship?" she yelled as she flung her hand towards Beckett, gesturing in her general direction.

"Alexis, you are-" Martha began to raise her voice until Beckett stopped her and stepped forward.

"Alexis, whether you choose to believe it or not, I do love your father. You can accept that fact and actually be happy for us. But nothing gives you the right to be as rude as you were to him," Beckett felt slightly out of place. She didn't know what to say but she needed to say _something_.

"Look I'm sorry," Alexis still looked upset, but she wasn't raising her voice, "I just-" she looked down in frustration, 'Dad don't you see how this affects me? All those unsuccessful marriages and relationships. Just one after another. I have never seen a functional relationship," she finished talking and took in a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been that rude. But I just…" she walked and sat down on the couch.

"Hey, _I'm_ sorry," Castle sat next to her, "I never actually thought about how this would affect you. I just wasn't thinking about anyone but myself," he shook his head in disappointment.

"It's ok," Alexis said as she gave him a tight hug.

"And?" he pulled away and looked at her expectantly. Alexis understood what he was getting at immediately. She narrowed her eyes at Beckett and pursed her lips. She looked back at Castle, who was still waiting expectantly. They both stood up from the couch slowly.

"I approve," she said with an eye roll.

At hearing the words come out of Alexis' mouth, he immediately picked her up off her feet and whirled her around in a circle. She yelped and fell into a fit of laughter. He put her down and ran to the other side of the room, to meet a smiling Beckett. He prepared to pick her up as well.

"Castle, don't you dare," she warned.

He literally swept her off her feet and cradled her like a baby. He was actually surprised she hadn't punched the living daylights out of him, as self-defence, because he had taken her off guard when he picked her up.

"Castle, put me down," she commanded with a gentle tone, almost with a laugh. Martha had her head rested on one hand, while Alexis stood and watched, shaking her head slowly.

"Sorry," he immediately obeyed and put her on the floor, "This is just so great!" he couldn't contain his happiness, "We should play laser tag," he said with wide excited nine year old eyes as he walked towards Alexis.

"Richard," "Dad," "Castle" all three women spoke in unison with disapproving tones.

"What?" he asked as he pulled Alexis in for another hug.

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**And they all lived Happily Ever After…?**

Thanks for reading the Epilogue. I hope its ok. Please review so that my next story (which is already in the making, if you want to read it) can be even better than this one! I need all the feedback I can get please! Thanks Xx

**SezzaLuvBones**, I am expecting a review from you! No doubt about that!


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